Man Thrown From Plane: Trainee Pilot Ripped From Seat During Flying Lesson (VIDEO, PHOTO)
A man has been thrown from a plane during a flying lesson, in a shocking report out of Tennessee this week.
Police are reportedly looking for the man who was thrown from the plane, which was flying over East Brainderd at the time of the incident.
The unidentified man was taking a flying lesson in a Zodiac 601 aircraft at the Collegedale Municipal Airport, according to the Times Free Press. That type of aircraft is usually used for leisure flights and pilot training flights.
The plane was carrying an instructor and a trainee pilot as it flew at about 2,500 feet, when suddenly the plane's canopy came flying off. According to reports, the trainee pilot's seat belt was not engaged at the time, and he was suddenly ripped out of his seat and thrown from the plane.
The plane instructor was not hurt in the incident and although shocked he regained control of the plane and was able to take it back to the airport and land it safely. He quickly reported the incident to authorities, sparking a frantic search for the missing man. However, hours later he was still not found.
Authorities reportedly do not believe that the man could have survived the incident.
According to a Collegedale Municipal Airport employee, Lowell Sterchi, the trainee pilot had the instructor's and his own cell phones on his person when he was thrown from the plane. Authorities have been trying to locate the GPS signal from the phones in an attempt to help locate him.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified about the crash.
Here is a video of a Zodiac 601 airplane:
